Trailer coupling



2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 13, 1934. E. SBABER TRAILER COUPLING Filed April 25. 1952 Ahorneys.

u lL-h ,4.4554512 man Feb. 13, 1934. E. s. BABER TRAILER COUPLING Filed April 25, 1932 Alp'- Inventor, Euye/Lacoaber @kwam mhz orney- Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of couplings and particularly to a coupling between trailers as employed in ash and garbage trains where a tractor is employed to pull a number of trailers along the streets and alleys of cities. The trailers t0 which my invention is intended to be applied are first drawn in trains by tractors from a central plant or yard and distributed about the city to be individually pulled up and dov/n the streets and alleys to collect the ashes or garbage as the case may be. When the individual trailers are filled or have completed their route, they are assembled at a designated point into trains and the tractor hitches onto the train and pulls it back to the receiving plant or dump. In pulling these trains along the city streets, other traffic is encountered. The trains must be movedlto and from the collecting districts with speed, other'- wise, a delay would require either more trailers 80 or a longer period of` waiting by the collecting men for the return of the trailers. Moving the train of trailers at speeds from twenty to thirty miles per hour through traine entails some risk unless the trailers remain exactly in line. Here- 26 tofore, couplings employed to connect the trailers have permitted a weaving of the trailers in the train and many accidents have occurred by this weaving action, in which a trailer would swing ont of the straight line and side-swipe a vehicle 80 at the side thereof.

It is a primary object of my invention to pro- Vide a coupling by which a number of trailers may be hooked together to make up a train and those trailers remain in line as the train is moved a5 so as to eliminate the danger arising from the trailers weaving in and out laterally in a serpentine manner. A slight weaving in the old style couplers would soon multiply into a weaving oi considerable magnitude. My invention pre- 0 vents the initiation of the weaving so that it is stopped or rather prevented before any multiplication of it sets in.

An important advantage of my invention is that the operators may couple trailers together Without danger of catching their fingers or hands between coupling heads. A further important feature of the invention is to be found in the fact that there is no lateral lost motion or play between the various parts entering into the coupling means, and while the lateral play is eliminated, the coupling is flexible vertically to pro- Vide for varying trailer end elevations.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following description of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary Vertical, longitudinal section through a coupling structure embodying my invention as applied to the front and rear ends of adjacent trailers of a train;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary top plan view of the coupling structure;

Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section on the line 3-3 in Fig. l;

Fig. 4, a vertical transverse section on an enlarged scale on the line 4--4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5, a detail in fragmentary side elevation of tongue connecting means; and

Fig. 6, a fragmentary top plan view of the tongue connection detail.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views in the drawings.

The chassis frame 10 of a rear trailer 8 is provided with a fixed cross member 11 near its outer end, here shown as being a channel bar with its legs turned upwardly and located above the axle 12. A yoke 13 is bolted to the under side of the member 11, and the drawbar, generally designated by the numeral 14, is pivotally secured between the cross member and the yoke. The drawbar 14 is built up by turning a structural channel l5 over a like channel 16 to have the outer edges of the respective channel legs abut each other, and these edges are welded one to the other so that a hollow elongated box is produced. A casting 17 is xed within the channel 15 and alike casting 18 in the channel 16, the two castings being vertically aligned and bored through to receive the king pin 19 with a forced t therein. The pin 19 is made of suicient length to extend to above and below the fabricated drawbar and these projecting ends are reduced in diameter to iit respectively revolubly in the bearing block 20 fixed on the cross member 11 and in the bore provided in the yoke 13. The drawbar 14 carrying the pin 19 in a xed manner may then be rocked transversely under the cross member 1 1. The drawbar 14 extends forwardly from the king pin 19 to over the transverse bar 100 21 which is suspended from the chassis frame 10 a sufcient distance to allow the drawbar 14 to be shifted laterally over the bar 2l while in sliding contact with the underside of the chassis front cross member 22. By thus supporting the 105 outer end of the drawbar 14, vertical rocking action about the king pin 19 is prevented.

The drawbar 14 extends rearwardly from the king pin 19 a distance and carries a pin 23 ver tcally disposed therethrough. This pin 23 has 110 Ivet:

an equalizer bar 24 carried on its lower end by a nut 25 which compressively forces the bar 24 up against a bearing washer 26 which in turn is forced against an annular shoulder about the pin. rEhis shoulder is at the lower end of a portion of the pin having a larger diameter, which portion revolubly nts within a bearing liked to the under side of the drawbar. A nut 27 screwthreadedly engages the upper end of the pin 23 which extends above a bearing block 23 fixed on the top side of the drawbar. The major part or" the pin 23 which is within the bearing 23 has a larger diameter than that of the end thereabove. A washer is carried under the nut 27 so that by tightening down the nut 27, the pin 23 is lifted to pull the lower washer 26 against the under bearing. Drag links 29 and 3G, Fig. 2, are rockably ilxed to the outer ends of the equalizer bar 24 and extend downwardly and outwardly to engage rockably with the respective steering arms 31, 32, whereby 'the wheels 33, 34 may be steered upon shifting the drawbar 14 about the king pin 19 in the usual manner well known to those versed in the art.

A coupling head is provided with a shank 35 f formed to enter within the outer end of the drawbar 14 with a close sliding iit. A U-sliaped yoke 37has its ends brought up from the rear of the shank to straddle and be in contact with vertical faces of the shank, and is there secured by the pins 38 to extend back to within the drawbar. Two blocks 39, 4G are placed within the yoke 7, one against the rear end of the shank 35 and the other back against the end of the yoke. A cornpression spring 41 is placed within the yoke be-1 tween the two blocks normally spacing the blocks apart and holding thorn in the positions above indicated. Each block is cut through vertically to form a central slot extending fore and aft and pins 42 and 43 are inserted vertically through the drawbar 14 to pass respectively through these slots. The pins are so located in the drawbar that the pin 42 is at the extreme forward end of the slot in the block 39 while the pin 43 is at the extreme rear end of the slot in the block 40.

. Thus, should the head 35 be forced back, the block 39 will remain stationary against the pin 42, but the shank 35 will press the block 43 back along the pin 43 to compress the spring 4l, the rearward travel being limited by the length of the slot in the block 4o, and conversely, should the head 35 be jerked ahead, the block 4o remains stationary while the yoke 37 carries the block 39 against the spring 41. The rear end of the yoke 37 is provided with a shim 53 on each vertical face so as i to provide a close sliding iit with the interior side walls of the drawbar and prevent lateral rocking of the head 35 relative to the drawbar. A yoke 46 is rockably carried oy the head 35 to be free to swing vertically but prevented from swinging horizontally. On the outer end of the yoke is integrally carried a ring 45.

The foregoing structure is illustrated by the drawings as being located at the front end of a back trailer 3. The saine identical structure is employed at both ends of every trailer to be hooked up in a train, and I here show that same structure as applied to the rear end of the trailer 9 next ahead or" the trailer 8, the parts on the trailer 9 identical with those on the trailer 8 being indicated by the corresponding numbers hut primed.

. Both coupling heads 35 and 35 are hollowed out from their outer vertical faces each to have a pocket 44 as shown in they head 35 within which the ring 45 of the coupling yoke 46 may Leafs/nso enter and iit snugly against the back wall thereof. A coupling pin 47 is provided to slide vertically from the top down through this pocket and through the ring 45. The internal diameter of the ring 45 exceeds the diameter of the pin 47 and the pin is spaced out from the rear pocket wall a distance less than the radius to the outside ci' the ring and just suiicient to let the ring slide between the pin and the wall. The pocket wall back of the pin and to either side thereof is semicylindrical in shape and its curvature conforms to that of the ring so that the ring may have no lateralplay within the head although the pin 47 is of much less diameter thanthat of the hole through the ring. The walls leading from the sides and top and bottom of the pocket are outwardly to serve to guide the ring to within the pocket. The vertical height of the pocket exceeds that of the ring 45 so that the ring may be raised and lowered along the pin 47'. The radial cross-sectional shape of the ring 45 is that of a. circle so that there is a point contact of the inner side of the ring with the pin, and a transverse line contact of the ring with the wall of the pocket.

In coupling a rear trailer 3 to a forward trailer 9, the drawhar 14 of the forward trailer 9 is rst secured in its central position by rocking the lock handle 48 to lower the dogs 49 and 50', one on each side of the drawbar i4', Fig. 4, whereby the drawbar 14 may not be shifted laterally about its king pin and consequently the rear Wheels of the trailer are thus held in the straight ahead position. The two trailers 8 and 9 are then brought one toward the other, the coupling pin 47' lifted, the yoke 46 held up by hand to guide the ring 45 to within the head 35 and the pin 47' then dropped down through the ring 45, thus coupling the two trailers together. The drawbar lock handle 48 on the trailer 8 is shifted to release the drawbar 14 so that as the forward trailer 9 deviates from the straight line travel, the drawbar i4 may be rocked laterally about its king pin to steer the front wheels accordingly of the trailer S. The particular details of the drawbar locking means are shown in Figs. 2 and 4, but do not enter specically into my invention since other means may be employed for the same purpose. The handle 48' has a crank 51 which iits within a vertical slot in a transversely shiftable plate 52' which has inclined surfaces to be in the paths of pins 53 rearwardly extending from the dogs 49 and 50 so that as the handle 48 may be rocked in one direction the plate will be shifted to raise the dogs, and in the other direction to lower them, springs 54' being employed to urge the dogs downwardly.

The yoke 46' on the forward head 35 is allowed to hang downwardly and is unused with the trailer being pulled forwardly. Should the trai1- ers he moved in the reverse direction, the yoke 46 would he dropped and the yoke 46 raised and coupled in the head 35, and the drawbar l released and the drawbar 14 fixed in position as to lateral movement. The yoke 46 is in reality but a vertically hinged extension of the drawbar 14 and its ring 45 is always maintained to be centrally located of a central vertical plane through the drawbar 14. Side-whip of the drawbar 14 is prevented by reason of the close t of the ring 45 in the head 35 although, the ring 45 may slide circumferentially in the head when the trailers are ofits king pin on the drawn trailer-is lengthened as to its lever arm by the length of the yoke 46, as compared to the shorter length of the corresponding lever` arm of the drawbar 14 on the pulling trailer. By reason of this difference in lever arm lengths between the xed forward, pulling drawbar and the laterally shiftable pulled drawbar, the amount of side-whip or Weaving of the rear end of the'pulling trailer 9 is greatly reduced, and for all practical purposes is totally reduced, as being transmitted to the front wheels of the pulled trailer 8, by reason of the greater lever arm length being provided on the steering drawbar of the pulled trailer. Also, corners may be turned to better advantage by long trains of trailers employing my invention. I

When the trailers are to be pulled individually by teams, the yoke 46 is rocked upwardly and the rear end of a tongue having a vertically slotted end is inserted to under the yoke and by that end to within the head 35 to straddle the coupling pin 47, Figs. 5 and 6. The yoke 46 is rocked down against the top side of the tongue to have the downturned legs 65, 66 straddle the tongue and pass along the forward sides of the ears 57 and 58 fixed on the respective sides of the tongue whereby the tongue ears may bear against the yoke legs so that the trailer may be pulled through the tongue. A backturned lip 59 is provided on the yoke, over which lip a spring pressed pin 60 carried by the tongue may engage to prevent accidental lifting of the yoke olf of the tongue.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the one form in somewhat minute detail, it is obvious that structural changes may be made in that form without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form any more than may be required by the following claims.

I claim:

l. In a trackless vehicle steerable coupling having a drawbar, and having a king pin securing the drawbar tothe vehicle to permit horizontal shifting thereof, and having a vehicle wheel steering means connected to said drawbar, and having a head on the drawbar, a yoke horizontally straddling the head and rockably secured thereto to swing vertically, a ring on the outer end of the yoke, said head having a pocket therein with an inner wall conforming to the outer end of said ring, a coupling pin adapted to be inserted vertically in said head to extend through said pocket, and means for selectively retaining said drawbar in a straight-ahead position.

2. In a coupling between a pulling and a pulled trackless vehicle having drawbars of identical construction on the opposing ends of the two vehicles, and having a vertically disposed king pin pivotally securing each drawbar to the respective `vehicle to permit horizontal rocking of the drawbar, and having a vehicle wheel steering means connected with each of said drawbars, means on each of said vehicles to hold selectively said drawbars in straight ahead steering positions, said means being in the retaining position on the pulling vehicle and non-retaining position on the pulled vehicle, a coupling yoke straddling and hinged to the drawbar of the pulled vehicle to swing vertically only, and a coupling pin carried by the drawbar of the pulling vehicle engaging the forward endof said yoke, said yoke forming a laterally rigid but vertically yielding extension of the pulled drawbar to provide' an increased length thereof as compared to that of the fixed pulling drawbar.

3. In a steering coupling between a pulled and a pulling trackless vehicle, a horizontally swingable drawbar on both vehicles, vehicle wheel steering means for each drawbar connected with a respective swingable drawbar, a yoke onthe pulling vehicle straddling and hinged to the swingable drawbar to swing vertically, said swingable drawbar having a longer effective length than -that of the yoke, a coupling pin detachably securing the drawbars together and a pivot pin for each drawbar located between the points of attachment of the steering means and the coupling pm.

4. In a steerable coupling between a pulled and a pulling trackless vehicle having a drawbar horizontally swingably mounted on the pulled vehicle, and having vehicle steering means connected with said drawbar, a drawbar mounted on the pulling vehicle and held in fixed position, a hinged coupling member carried by the swingable drawbar constrained to swing vertically only, an eye on the outer end of the coupling member, and a coupling pin carried by the pulling drawbar to pass through said eye, said coupling member causing the horizontally pivoting point between the two drawbars to be nearer to the pulling vehicle than to the pulled vehicle.

5. In a trackless vehicle steerable coupling having a drawbar and having a king pin securing the drawbar to the vehicle to permit horizontal shifting thereof and having a vehicle wheel steering means connected to said drawbar, and a head on the drawbar, a yoke horizontally straddling the head and rockably secured thereto to swing vertically, a ring on the outer end of the yoke, said head having a pocket therein with an inner wall conforming to the outer end of said ring, a coupling pin adapted to be inserted vertically in said head to extend through said pocket, and means for selectively retaining said drawbar in a straight-ahead position, said ring having an internal diameter greatly exceeding the diameter of the coupling pin, and said coupling pin being located to hold said ring slidably but snugly against the sides of said pocket wall. I

6. In a trackless trailer coupling having a drawbar horizontally rockably attached to a trailer and having trailer wheel steering means connected to the drawbar and having a coupling head on the drawbar, a yoke having its legs rockably secured to the head to constrain the movement of the yoke to vertical travel in relation to the head, a coupling eye on the outer end of the yoke, said head having a pocket therein with side walls spaced apart a distance to provide for a sliding fit therebetween of a corresponding coupling eye, and a coupling pin adapted to be passed vertically through said head through said pocket.

7. In a trackless trailer coupling having a drawbar horizontally rockably attached to a trailer, trailer wheel steering means connected to the drawbar, a coupling head on the drawbar, a yoke having its legs rockably secured to the head to constrain the movement of the yoke to vertical travel in relation to the head, a coupling eye on the outer end of the yoke, said head having a pocket therein with side walls spaced apart a distance to provide for a sliding t therebetween of a corresponding coupling eye, and a coupling pin adapted to be passed vertically through said head through said pocket, a trailer las tongue having a slotted end adapted to t Within said head pocket and straddle said coupling pin, ears extending from the tongue and legs depending from said yoke adapted to t over the front sides of said ears.

8. In a trackless trailer coupling having a drawbar horizontally rockably attached to a trailer, trailer Wheel steering means connected to the drawbar, a coupling head on the dravvbar, a yoke having its legs rockably secured to the head to constrain the movement of the yoke to Vertical travel in relation to the head, a coupling eye on the outer end of the yoke, said head having a pocket therein with side Walls spaced apart a distance to provide for a sliding iit therebetween of a corresponding coupling eye, and a coupling pin adapted to be passed vertically through said head through said pocket, a trailer tongue having a slotted end adapted to t within said head pocket and straddle said coupling pin, ears extending from the tongue and legs depending from said yoke adapted to t over the front sides of Vsaid ears, said tongue being inserted under said yoke, and latch means on the tongue adapted to engage said yoke to prevent acci dental lifting of the yoke from the tongue.

9. In a trackless vehicle, a frame, a drawbar, a king pin securing the drawbar, said drawbar being hollow forwardly of said king pin, a cross bar vertically supporting the forward end of the drawbar, a coupling head having a shank closely fitting slidably Within the drawbar, a yoke xed to said shank and extending back into said draW- bar, a pair of shiftable blocks Within the yoke, a compression'spring normally spacing apart the blocks to yieldingly force them respectively against the rear end of the yoke and the rear end of said shank, said blocks being vertically slotted fore andY aft, and pins carried by the draWbar extending vertically through said block slots to be normally respectively at the forward end of the slot of the rear block and at the rear end of the front block slot, shims at the sides of said yoke to prevent lateral travel thereof within said drawbar, and a vertically swingable yoke hinged to said head. y

10. In a coupling for a plurality of vehicles, a dravvbar for each vehicle, a member pivoted to one of drawfcars to swing vertically said member having a coupling eye on its outer end, the other of said drawhars being recessed to reeeive the coupling eye Without lateral play and a coupling pin pas-sing vertically through the recess and eye.

EUGENE SCOTT BABER.

ion 

